Saturday, 20 July 2013

Sushino En

I'm a major Japanese food fan, so I could easily appreciate both fast-food joints like Singapore's Yoshinoya, London's Wasabi, or fancy top-notch Sushisamba in Heron Tower, with main courses all above £10 which I can only dream of.

My sister brought me to a little gem in Whitechapel called Sushino EN, a humble Japanese restaurant with a great multi-level interior, complete with a faux-sit-on-the-floor set of tables on one side of the restaurant. There were very few diners during this off-peak time, so the soundtrack of our meal was the sounds of what seemed like a yoga/meditation album.

The prices are above average, with my bowl of Sake Teriyaki (grilled salmon on rice) costing £8.95. The salmon with its sauce was superb, and the rice was fluffy and yummy.

My sister ordered a Chirashizushi at £14.90 which came with pickles, salad and ebi tempura. The rice was authentic and tasty with a great vinegar blend, topped with a variety of sashimi, which contributed to the eye-twitching price – the bowl was pretty small, even though the meal did come with little sides of salad and tempura.

The service also greatly sets Sushino EN apart from other Asian restaurants. coughchinatownshitservicecough The waiting staff and restaurant manager constantly returned to our table to ask us how the food was, and whether we needed anything else.

If you're in the Whitechapel area with a few bucks to spend, Sushino EN is a great place to sit down and enjoy lovely Japanese food and service, the latter probably very Japanese as well.